Following a youth protest held in Baku on 11th March which saw dozens of activists detained or arrested before, during and after the event, some bloggers in Azerbaijan are criticizing the organizers of what became known as “Great People's Day.” Analoqu olmayan bloq :) [AZ], for example, criticizes the fact that six of seven of those responsible for the page were based outside the country.

There is nothing easier than sloganism and criticizing the government from abroad. In some places the freedom of society and youths became even more strained. This will clearly be demonstrated in days to come.

The 11 March People's Day took place, but there was neither any real plan nor a slogan. Throughout history, battles are lost 90 percent of the time for lack of organization and the wrong choice of strategy.

She also criticizes the location, a central shopping street, chosen by some of the protesters.

It's full of expensive, glamorous shops, houses or offices. Those who rent them are either foreigners or those, satisfied with the way things are, who want peace and order. Who was going to join from there? Wouldn't it be logical to do this in some poor area, where people are struggling to make ends meet? Wouldn't it be possible to go to this area and start a march from there?

In a new blog, Bloq yolun bir hissəsidir, however, one of those organizers, Mejid Merjanli, responds.

News spread that they are sending troops to the city, the authorities are going to butcher the people. While we are the ones who should be most afraid, people who have nothing to do with the situation are saying that “you are sitting abroad, sending people's kids to be butchered,” “youths got unjustly detained because of you,” “Human Rights House, NDI got shut down because of you, they'll shut down Free Thought University too.” […] A few days before 11 March we released several statements, wrote articles saying that nobody should participate in confrontations or give in to provocations. “Those who destruct and damage are not one of us,” – we wrote this time and time again, on the event's wall and on our own pages. […] Apparently we are the cause of these arrests. Were Jabbar Savalan, Eynulla Fatullayev, Emin Milli, Adnan Hajizada also arrested because of this event? Those arrested on 11 March were arrested as unjustly as those arrested before it. Go ask the government why they are arresting our youth for no reason – if you don't have the courage to do this, what do you want from us? I had already heard about Human Rights House being shut down one month ago, when I was in Baku. A lot of people were expecting this – it has nothing to do with 11 March. On 12 March, the Musavat Party held a great protest. I am sure that 11 March was a strong stimulus for this.

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